“Well?” he said roughly.
Jack shook his head. “I lost it. If whatever that was crossed the water, I won’t be able to find it. I managed to find the actual trail halfway here, but it stops here. Water wipes scent away and scatters it when it dries.”
“Damn,” Tristan swore, feeling fury rise in his heart. “Well, it doesn’t matter. At least we know whatever that was is still in the area. That’s a damn good thing.”
“It is?” Jack said, shivering slightly. He moved in closer to Tristan’s warmth, and he didn’t need to look at the omega to realize how ragged and exhausted the poor thing must be. He had pushed himself very hard—maybe even too hard. They had definitely gone what Agatha would call “too far.”
“It’s dangerous but this is the most I’ve seen of it since that day. It’s getting braver. Pretty soon, we might be able to catch it.”
“And...what are we going to do with it when we catch it?”
Tristan didn’t answer. He thought it was pretty self-explanatory himself. “We need to get back to the camp and call a meeting.”
It took a very, very long time to return home. Agatha had been keeping a lookout from the edge of the camp, and she raced towards both of them with a scathing tongue and extra clothes. As he was dressing, Tristan noticed several of the pack watching his body and had to fight back a chuckle. The curse of being an alpha was to go through clothes like crazy; the smaller shifters had it easy, as far as he was concerned.
Only a few days ago, he would have basked in the attention of his pack members and even made an effort to display more of himself for them to ogle. Now, he just hurried through it and then spoke, interrupting Agatha when she was in the middle of speaking. “I’m calling a meeting. Gather anyone you see.”
An hour later, he stood before as many shifters as could be gathered. More were arriving even as he began to speak, addressing all of them to tell what he had discovered on his walk with Jack.
At least now none of them can say that I’m not spending time with him, he thought, knowing full well that wasn’t a good reason but feeling satisfied with himself anyway. Looking out at the pack as they absorbed what he told them, he spotted Jack standing in the doorway of the cabin. Apparently, that was as far as Agatha was willing to let him wander.
“So, what are we going to do?” someone asked.
Tristan looked out at all of them and took a deep breath. This was it. “We are going to keep our eyes and noses peeled at all times. Patrols will continue. No one is allowed outside of camp alone. Children are not allowed outside of camp at all after dark. We are safe. We just need to make sure that we keep it that way.”
Approval was given, judging by the murmurs given to him by his packmates, but he wasn’t done yet.
“I have one more thing to cover tonight. I’ve put it off long enough. I am forming my council.”
“Fucking finally!” at least ten voices shouted, followed by laughter.
His heart swelled with pride, and he puffed out his chest. Despite his difficulties adjusting, it seemed like his pack was still united. That meant the world to him.
“I think I will take on five members and see if that suffices. We’ll adjust in the coming days. There will be myself and Peter.”
The asexual glanced up with a surprised, but pleased look on his face. That made Tristan feel even better, seeing the boy actually have some emotions.
“I’ll do my best,” Peter said, and his voice quivered.
The pack howled their approval.
“I will also take Agatha.”
The doctor was an obvious choice, and no one was surprised.
Am I really about to do this?
Tristan turned to look out at Jack. “And my mate, Jack.”
A few howls came, but most of the pack were silent. He didn’t care. His word was final.
Jack looked completely stunned, however. Tristan figured he would have to talk to him later on to sort all that out.
“The other two, I’ll be taking interviews for over the next few days, at your leisure. I want a mother, and I want a hunter. We will have such a variety of viewpoints and a range of minds that no threat will ever be able to bring us down. We will be invincible!”
Honestly, he had no idea if that was what he actually believed, but it was another of those necessary lies.
Later on, when the meeting was done and the night was quieting down, Tristan left the camp to seek out a quiet place to sleep.
He hadn’t gone very far when he heard a soft “pssst.”
Pricking up his ears, he lifted his head and looked around, sensing that he was being stared at. Jack peered at him from a crack in the boarded-up windows of his cabin.
Reluctant but also curious, Tristan went to him. “What is it?”
With his keen eyesight, he could tell that Jack looked a bit nervous—and felt that way, too. However, that stuffy pride made him withdraw slightly.
“Nothing,” he muttered, and started to pull his face away from the window. “Night.”
Tristan watched him go, and then shrugged his shoulders. “Night,” he said, but something wouldn’t let him leave.
Beneath the window was as good a place to sleep as any, he supposed. Curling up there, at least he was sheltered from most of the wind.
His dreams were unpleasant, although come morning he could hardly remember what they had been about. He could guess, though. Jack’s presence wasn’t enough to make him that upset—grouchy, but not upset—so he must have been dreaming of that unnamed, mysterious thing roaming the mountains.
Don’t worry, he told himself grimly. If anything happens, I won’t let it escape this time. It’s as good as dead.
The anxiousness in his chest calmed, immediately reassured. He hesitated, wondering if he had been feeling his own worries or Jack’s; it was hard to tell these days.
“Tristan!” a voice called. It was a woman, one of the mothers who had had a child or two and had seen quite a bit. She must have wanted to interview.
“I’m coming,” he growled from the window. A thump from inside the room told him that Jack had fallen off the bed in surprise, not knowing that he was that close; a grin curled on his lips as he headed out to find the woman calling for him. It was time to face the day.
Chapter 10
Over the next several days, Jack found himself slowly changing his mind about Tristan. The man was an aggressive, bitter jerk, but he could understand why, and sometimes he turned around completely and came off as someone downright pleasant. They went out for a walk every morning after that, though their trips were nowhere near as strenuous as that first one.
Jack was secretly glad because he felt like shit the next morning and could hardly walk. However, even though he was now easily tired out and still rather stiff, his wounds were coming closer and closer to fading away entirely. The scars of the horrific incident would remain, and he still didn’t even want to think about what had happened, but the physical evidence was fading.
He enjoyed his time outside the cramped little cabin immensely, and Agatha kept remarking about how happy he seemed. He hated that, though. He didn’t like when other people commented on his mental state, or his well-being. It reminded him way too much of the overbearing nosiness from his own pack, and it pissed him off to the point where he had to snap or snarl.
At first, the odd looks from the other members of Tristan’s pack bothered him, although he tried to convince himself that they didn’t. They were just getting used to him, that was all.
As the days went on, he was proved right. He could carry out small tasks now, such as helping to cook with the omega women, although he hated to sit with them because they were like any other women who had discovered a gay man in their midst. They assumed that he would be just as domestic as they were, fussing over him about clothes and makeup and cooking, as though he actually cared about those things. Try as he might, he couldn’t really enjoy their company and found himself just longing for Tristan to come bac
k and rescue him from their clutches.
The leader was busier now than ever, however. He had chosen his next two council members after going through a very long string of interviews and now they were all coordinating to get used to each other and their new duties. The structure of the pack rearranged slightly to account for the differences, and tensions rose for a few hours before everyone settled back down into the same routines as always.
“How come I don’t get to be involved in the meetings?” Jack protested, but he was silenced with a scathing look from Agatha. The silver wolf doctor hadn’t forgiven him for going against her will and, in her words, traipsing all over the mountain range. However, he could always get her to smile with some joke or small antic, and he knew that she was only scared for him.
It didn’t really help the situation much at all, but he did understand.
He also understood why they wouldn’t allow him to contact his family, and now that he was over his initial anger, he was glad for it. Geez, how awful would it have to be to explain to his parents all that he’d gone through? It would cause such a disaster. And if they decided to come get him so that they could “rescue” him? Nothing would ever be so inconvenient as that, for sure.
So, despite the fact that he was essentially being held against his will, Jack discovered that there was indeed a place for him in the pack. It wasn’t exactly a position of respect, since he was still a foreign omega, but it seemed like most at least now tolerated his presence.
The only bad thing was now at night, he was finding himself craving Tristan’s presence. He was burning with sexual frustration and the desire to be near his mate. The fact that Tristan had taken to sleeping beneath his window and was always just out of reach at night, when the desire was most powerful, didn’t really help matters.
The next morning, just like all the others, he sprang to his feet in anticipation of the alpha’s heavy body lifting up from the ground. Rolling out of the bed that he was snuggled up in, breathing deeply of the alpha’s clinging scent even though now the sheets mostly held his own aromas, he padded rapidly across the floor while shoving his feet into borrowed shoes that didn’t quite fit on his feet. A few seconds later, some of the stiffness had left his body, and he hurried over to the front door with only a slight ache to remind him of the terrible attack.
“Good morning!” he said brightly, popping outside and prancing into the sunshine. It was a beautiful day, and he couldn’t help stretching, relishing in the feel of the warmth on his thin muscles.
Tristan gave a weary smile. “Hi,” he growled. His chest rumbled with that single word, making Jack’s insides quiver with delight.
The increased reactions in his body made him wonder if he might not be on the verge of going into heat. The prospect was equal parts terrifying and annoying. An omega in heat was fair game for any pervert to snatch up; he had no idea how Tristan would react towards him once he was also able to sense the heat. The invitation Jack had given earlier, forced into it by his instincts... Would the alpha suddenly accept it?
Another shiver ran through his body and he dropped his arms back down by his sides. “Where are we going today?” he asked eagerly. The forest called to his blood, inviting him into its cool depths eagerly. It was just as new to him as the day he first set paw on the mountain.
Tristan blinked, looking like he hadn’t quite thought about that yet. Then, he shrugged. “I guess we can go wherever you want to go.”
Jack blinked in return, a little hurt at the disinterested response and mad at himself that he was starting to care so much. This was exactly what he hadn’t wanted out of life, depending on his alpha’s feelings to make him happy. “I don’t know my way around. You know that.”
The alpha sighed again, and then rubbed his eyes with his hands. The gesture was cute somehow, childish. “Sorry. I forgot.”
“How can you forget?” Jack asked indignantly.
“I just did, okay? Fuck, you’re an annoying brat.” Tristan scowled at him, turning on his heel and marching away rapidly.
The length of his stride gave him a speed that Jack couldn’t quite match immediately, but he did manage to catch up over time. They headed away from the camp, in the opposite direction of the low ridge where they had lost the strange scent the other day. Jack hated himself for not being able to follow the trail any further, but he had done the best he could.
Wrenching himself away from the dark path which lay down the direction of those thoughts, he realized that they were heading down towards a sort of small valley. He almost had his breath taken away by the colors that assailed his eyes. Honeysuckle dappled the tree line, and thick clots of purple flower choked the grass. The river winding its way down through here was a blue strip, as though in jealous imitation of the sky.
No color scheme he could have ever designed would stand up to what nature itself had to offer.
Feeling eyes on him, Jack turned slightly towards Tristan. “This is amazing. Why don’t I see any walking paths down there?”
Tristan let out a little laugh. “Have you seen any paths at all around camp? That’s intentional. The Barrow pack has been around longer than some of these trails. Our history here means that Portland and Forest Park especially have been slightly adapted to our needs. The paths don’t come near us because we’re here.”
“But what if someone comes hiking away from the trails?”
Amusement crossed the alpha’s face for a moment as he looked out across the beautiful landscape. “You wouldn’t believe the amount of times that people have simply walked by us without knowing we’re here.” He laughed a little. “You also wouldn’t believe the stories that some of the humans tell about these mountains! Strange people who chase them out of the woods and stuff like that. It’s crazy, I tell you.”
Jack laughed now too, realizing what the alpha was getting at. He would bet that Tristan himself had taken part in many of those chases himself. He seemed like the sort who would do that and get a real kick out of it.
Together, the pair started to descend down the hill when a peculiar scent caught Jack’s attention. “What’s that?” he asked curiously, looking in the direction the wind was blowing from.
Tristan glanced at him, squaring his shoulders warily. The alpha looked alarmed, ready to lunge at the slightest provocation. “What do you mean? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just don’t recognize...” Jack cut himself off abruptly as something down the hill moved away from the shadow of an enormous oak tree, shambling away across the grass. Its enormous head lurched down, snatching up a mouthful of purple flowers in pointed teeth.
The bottom of his stomach dropped out from his body, his footsteps halting immediately as the rest of the world threatened to shrink away from him. His vision narrowed down to a fine point, darkness closing in all around him.
Those movements...
Flashing back to the attack, the darkness, the thick body and the choking fur, the powerful weight... Immense legs and a barrel body, panting breath and shambling movements...
“Jack!”
He couldn’t move.
There, picking up speed now from a shuffle to a pounding, graceless run, was a gigantic black bear. It moved exactly like the monster that had attacked him.
“Tristan,” he whispered, cringing away from the running animal even though it was heading away from them. It seemed as though the creature was actually fleeing their presence. “That’s it. The thing that attacked me. It moved like that.”
“It was a bear?” Tristan repeated, his voice rising from a stunned whisper to a roar that shook the sky. The echo careened crazily off the mountain peaks. Jack lunged away from Tristan as he practically burst out of his skin, leaping forward and falling to the ground as a wolf that sprinted away across the meadow.
“Wait!” Jack cried out, trying to run after him. His body was trying to shift, but he needed his voice. “That’s not it! It wasn’t that bear! It doesn’t smell exactly the same, Tristan!”
Jack struggled to run any faster, but he felt like he was running in a dream. He couldn’t move fast enough to get there in time. There wasn’t enough time to begin with. Tristan was furious, barking and snarling, his claws gripping the bear as he shoved it onto its back and buried his face in its neck.
The bear groaned and moaned, bucking and twisting its body in an attempt to escape. Suddenly, it gripped the ground with its wide, flat paws and thrashed, but the movement was far more erratic now. In death throes.
Jack arrived nearly half a minute later. His side felt like it had a piece of glass shoved in it, and his legs were burning. “Tristan,” he gasped, over and over. The alpha’s name had turned from a word into a gusty explosion of meaningless breath. “That isn’t... That’s...”
“I know that now,” Tristan growled. He balled his massive hands into fists and let out an irritable growl that turned into a shout of frustration.
For a minute or two, all the two men could do was stare down at the body of the black bear. Tristan had bitten it so viciously that it was nearly decapitated, its pouring blood adding garish color to the meadow.
“Damn,” Tristan snarled. Jack backed up slightly, his insides burning with his mate’s uncontrollable rage. He knew that the alpha wasn’t mad at anyone but himself. It wasn’t like shapeshifters were against killing animals for food, but this had been senseless violence. He was so caught up in his search for revenge that an innocent creature had died because of him.
“Tristan,” Jack said quietly, a thought occurring to him. “This is important. This bear moved exactly like the thing that attacked me. It just smelled different, like a shifter. So, there’s only one conclusion we can get from that, right?”
Wild Ride: An M/M Shifter Mpreg Romance Bundle Page 39
